Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Banshee Chapter’

Written by Scott Edwards

Control is a big thing for a lot of people, and some have always wished they could control the minds of an entire nation in order to rule its people completely. Although no one has fully figured out the formula, many tests have been done over the years and it seems like something somebody would be able to crack, maybe they already have. I still know several people that believe that mind control drugs are being put in the flu shots that we receive each year and because of this, some of them still refuse to get one. It's an interesting thought and there might be some truth behind it, you just need to figure out what the trigger is and I swear if it is a song from the eighties, I might have to hurt someone.

James Hirsh is looking for the truth behind the stories of mind control experiments that the government has put unsuspecting citizens through over the years. Being able to get a sample of Dimethyltryptamine-19 from a friend in Colorado, James is ready to put it to the test. With his friend Renny videotaping the experiment, the first half hour goes off without a hitch, but then he starts hearing strange sounds in the house. When his radio comes alive with the tune of a music box playing, he then hears someone narrating numbers that do not seem to make any sense. James’ demeanor then begins to change and when he begins crying out that there is someone out to get him, he vanishes from the house without a trace and only one picture has been seen of him after that, where he appears to be a soulless body.

Hearing about the strange occurrence that has happened to her friend James, journalist Anne Roland jumps into action to find out what really happened. Searching James’s house, she finds an old tape that documents the experiments of Project MK-Ultra that used the Dimethyltryptamine regularly on its test subjects. As this is not enough information to go off of to find her friend, Anne investigates the strange numbers that were being spoken over the radio. She finds out that there are numerous broadcasts like this that play at all hours of the day around the country, but the phantom radio station that delivered the message to James came from an area by the dessert and can only be heard between three and five AM. 

Finding that there is someone watching her, but not knowing who it is in the dark, Anne runs and tells her boss about her progress. Finding out that the letter that was signed to James was actually referencing a book, Anne is able to track down and befriend the author, a man named Thomas Blackburn who has been in trouble with the law before for shooting people. and for going to the bathroom in public or using all kinds of drugs. Getting a little bit of the background from Thomas, Anne is invited to a little party he will be throwing where he will be taking the Dimethyltryptamine once again. It is not his first time with this drug, but this time his hallucinations have become more real than they ever have been before. Anne is seeing the same things as everyone else, but does not know what door has been opened and who is after the group, but when she finds an old map that can take them to where the original experiments were conducted, she knows they can put an end to the madness before everyone winds up dead.

In reading the description to this movie, you really do not know what you are getting yourself into. I think it should say something to the tune of, Mind control conspiracy gone wrong while two men have gone missing and only one woman and a retired writer can find the true answers. I don’t know, but that might have caught my attention a little bit more and done the movie some justice. Do you want to know what the drug does? Well here comes a spoiler so turn away if the answer is no. It turns your brain into a receiver for someone, something that is not of this earth, to take over and wear your skin like a puppet. I did enjoy this movie, I think a little bit more than I should have, but I am a sucker for the based on real life events storylines. And with all of the experiments that were done in mind control research in the early sixties, I am sure that they were able to come up with something that actually worked, and it might not be from another realm. Stay Scared.

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